


Garlic

by CaptainSophieStark



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:34:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26647579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainSophieStark/pseuds/CaptainSophieStark
Summary: Reader went through a vampire phase with all their friends in college. They got over their vampire phase when they moved to Mystic Falls, discovered vampires were real and started dating one. Or, maybe that means they never got over their vampire phase. Either way, they're mostly past the point of going to cheesy festivals where people dress up as vampires and wave crosses around. But when the old college squad is getting back together to go to a vampire festival in the area, just for kicks, reader can't resist bringing their boyfriend, Damon, along in the spirit of making the trip way more fun.
Relationships: Damon Salvatore/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 40





	Garlic

"Damon, come on! It'll be fun!"

"Y/N, no way! A festival where a bunch of freaks in costumes spend the day pretending to be vampires is not gonna be fun!"

I just rolled my eyes, looking away and trying to come up with something—anything—to reply to that. A few friends from college were still going through their vampire phases (although I couldn't really judge them, since I was dating one) and they'd invited me to the vampire equivalent of a renaissance festival a few towns over from Mystic Falls. Before meeting Damon, it might have been fun. Now, I knew way too much about the truth of the supernatural world to enjoy all the things people got wrong.

Unless, of course, my boyfriend came with and we made fun of it all together

"Damon please. It's not gonna be any fun without you!"

"You just said it would be fun! You're lying right to me!"

"Okay, fine, it'll be fun if you're there. Otherwise it'll totally suck."

"Why don't you just tell them you don't want to go?" he asked, walking around the living room of the Savlatore Boarding House and pouring himself a drink.

"Because I don't get to see them very often! This was a big thing for us back before I knew you, it feels important to keep the ties, you know?"

"No, I don't know." I gave Damon my absolute best 'pretty please?' face, and after a minute he broke. He rolled his eyes and went to flop down on the couch. "Fine. But you owe me, and I'm not gonna let you forget it."

I grinned and walked around the couch to join him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're the best babe."

"I know."

****************

"Y/N!" Katie, one of my friends from college, screamed happily and ran over to pull me into a hug. Damon and I were driving down with Katie, Mike, and Melanie in Melanie's car, and they'd just arrived to pick us up. "It's so good to see you again!"

"You too!" I replied, hugging her back with equal force. I exchanged similar greetings with the rest of my friends, then officially introduced them to my boyfriend, Damon Salvatore.

"He's cute," Katie whispered to me as we walked to the car. Damon could hear every word, of course, although she had no idea. "Almost like he strolled right out of one of those vampire novels we read together."

"Yeah," I said, laughing before turning to share a significant look with Damon. This was going to be a fun day.

After a quick two-hour car ride, we had officially arrived at the festival. Damon got out and stretched, basking in the sunshine and already rubbing it in just how little everyone here knew about vampires.

"Well, this is sure gonna be interesting," he said, putting one arm around me. We looked around, taking in the sights of the festival. We were still in the parking lot, and from here we could already see people in dark and old clothing, people walking around with umbrellas to shield them from the sun, and people wearing big wreaths of garlic around their necks.

"I'm starting to think that's an understatement," I replied.

The five of us walked up to the ticket counter, looking incredibly out of place in our normal street clothes. That was already beginning to change, however, when the lady who sold us our tickets stamped our wrists so we'd be able to come and go as we pleased.

The stamp looked like two puncture wounds in our wrist, as if an extremely neat vampire had decided to take a bite.

"What do you say I make those a little more realistic later?" asked Damon, leaning in to whisper. I shushed him, since all three of my friends were looking at us curiously, waiting for us to go in.

We cleared the gates and were met with an insane amount of people roaming around, adhering to every stereotype of vampires imaginable. I took turns looking around at the crowd and watching my boyfriend's expression, fighting hard not to laugh when someone bared their fake, plastic fangs at him and he just stared back, unimpressed.

After wandering the fair and seeing the sights for a little while, we decided it was time for lunch. Everything, of course, had garlic options as well as normal options, and when Damon and I split from my friends to walk up to one of the food trucks, they worked hard to sell us on the former.

"Try some garlic crust on your pizza?" asked the guy at the register.

"No, thank you," I said, smiling and going for a normal cheese and pepperoni option.

"How about you then, young man? You know, there's been talk around the fairgrounds of a real vampire stalking these grounds... A little garlic might give you some protection."

I expected Damon to scoff, roll his eyes, make a snide comment, and turn the guy down all in one motion. Instead, he gave in.

"You know what? Sure, I'll take the garlic option."

"Coming right up!"

The man looked pleased, quickly handing out a slice of normal pizza for me and a slice of garlic pizza for Damon. I gave my boyfriend a confused look as we moved to an empty table to wait for the rest of my friends to join us.

"You actually went for the garlic version?" I asked, still curious as he took his first bite.

"Sure did. You know why?" I shook my head, and Damon held up a hand signaling me to wait while he finished chewing. "Okay, two reasons. First, this is exactly the kind of 'fun' you were talking about, right? That guy set me up perfectly! 'Oh, you better be careful! There's a real vampire roaming around here today!'. Yeah, there sure is, and he's eating your magic garlic pizza right now!"

Damon's eyes went wide like he was shocked and terrified, and I couldn't help laughing. This was exactly what I imagined when I talked Damon into coming to this festival with me.

"And second, I'm considering the pizza a small piece of payback for you dragging me here, since now you have to kiss me with garlic breath."

I made a face as Damon leaned in, but when he gave me a wounded look I kissed him anyway. If the vampire could survive a little garlic, so could I.

My friends joined us shortly after, Mike sporting a new fleece scarf that was being marketed as a neck protector. We ate and chatted, and once we were done eating it was time to explore the festival some more.

"What the hell does he think that's gonna do for him?" asked Damon, leaning in to whisper to me as we went to throw our plates away. He kept his eyes on Mike's neck protector. "I'm a vampire. I could rip that stupid thing off his neck in less than a second."

"Or just bite his wrist or something," I agreed. Damon scoffed in agreement, and I just laughed. We kept walking, and it seemed like everywhere we turned there was a new cliche. Vampires with umbrellas and places to stay out of the sun were especially common, and every time we passed one Damon made sure to wiggle the hand with the ring around in my face. Once he even went so far to ask Melanie how she liked it, right after she'd been musing on how horrible it would be to be a vampire, since they couldn't go out in the sun.

I had to look at the ground and force a laugh into a cough for that one.

"One thing these guys sure have right is the wooden stakes," I noted as we wandered down an isle of stalls. Many of them advertised stakes being sold, and a good number of fair-goers did too.

"Yeah, and that's the only thing they got right," Damon snorted.

We enjoyed all the games and small rides the fair had to offer, laughing and talking the day away. Once the sun started to set, however, there was a notable shift in the atmosphere of the crowd. All the younger kids had left, and an electric excitement seemed to pass through everyone the darker it got.

"What's going on?" I asked, turning to my friends, since they'd found the festival in the first place.

"I'm not totally sure..." said Katie, looking around curiously at the renewed activity nightfall seemed to bring.

"The night falls!" A booming voice came from up ahead, and our group wandered forward a little ways to see a woman standing on a makeshift stage in the middle of the fairgrounds, an audience growing around her. "The vampires, at last, come out to play!"

"Oh boy," Damon muttered, rolling his eyes as he put one arm around me.

"With the setting rays of the sun, dear fair-goers, I warn you! This is your last chance to leave before things get deadly serious. Vampires lurk in these shadows at night, and what you may see is not for the faint of heart!"

"What would you give me if I vamp-sped up there and ripped her heart out?" muttered Damon, whispering right next to my ear.

"A lecture. I would give you a lecture."

"Aw, come on Y/N. You're no fun."

"Damon, killing crazy people in front of a big crowd is not fun."

"Maybe not for you."

I just rolled my eyes, a small smile creeping onto my face despite myself as the woman continued.

"If you fear the creatures of the night, leave now! But, if you hope to see something you've always dreamed of seeing... stay. Brave the dangers. Take use of the precautions we offer to you, and maybe you'll be lucky enough to see a real vampire... and live!"

That was clearly the end of her speech as she hopped down, grinning and shaking hands with the electrified audience surrounding her. I frowned, not exactly impressed, and Damon gave a bored sigh.

"Well, what do you guys think?" asked Katie, bouncing on her toes nervously. "Do you think we should stay?"

"Yeah, why not?" asked Damon, surprising everyone by speaking up first. "I mean, when are we gonna have another chance to see a real live vampire?"

And just like that, I was back to staring holes in the ground.

"I don't know... I mean, I don't even believe in vampires, but... I still don't really want to take the chance..." said Mike.

"Oh, come on you guys! Live a little! We drove all the way out here, and besides! There's all kinds of stuff to protect ourselves with!" Damon reached over to the nearest vendor to prove his point, pulling a crucifix off the display and holding it close to his chest. "I mean, no vampire could stand getting near this, much less holding it in his hand."

That one seemed a little obvious to me, but none of my friends picked up on it. They were still looking around nervously, clearly not totally swayed by Damon's argument. Time for me to step in.

"Damon's right!" I said, taking his free hand. The crucifix was still clutched in the other, which I could tell he was enjoying. "Come on, we came all the way out here to have some fun pretending vampires are real, right? What's the harm in staying a little longer?"

Slowly, my friends began to nod their heads. They were coming around.

"Well... I guess it really can't hurt," said Katie.

"And my car's been baking in the sun all day, so it might be good to give it some time to cool off before we pile in..." Melanie agreed.

"Let's do it!" Mike finally said. I pumped my first and did a little happy jump, and Damon put the crucifix around his neck with a giant grin on his face.

"Alright, then it's probably time to load up on some vampire protection gear."

We continued to wander around the fair as it got dark, constantly being approached by vendors trying to convince us to buy things to help protect us against vampires. I turned down most offers, but Damon didn't, and he soon added a garlic necklace to go along with his cross and a weird neck protector like Mike bought at lunch. From the grin on his face, I could tell he was having the time of his life.

"Try some of this!" called out another vendor as we passed. "Vampire tonic, keeps them at bay! Vampires can't drink it, or it'll kill them!"

"Oh, I'd love to try some of that," said Damon, of course heading right over. I grinned as I watched him take a sip, savoring it like a fine wine when it was probably just soda or something. "Mmm, you're right. No way a vampire could drink this. Thanks for the offer, I feel much safer now."

The man smiled and nodded, not picking up on Damon's sarcasm. He was like a kid in a candy store, going from vendor to vendor doing the same thing.

Everyone else around us was practically buzzing with electricity. They were all walking around in huddles, glancing from side to side like they were hoping to catch a glimpse of something. Damon bumped into one of them on purpose, and they angrily told him to get out of their way so he wouldn't block them from seeing a vampire.

The look he gave me sent me into laughter that I couldn't hide.

After a full lap of the fair grounds with no vampire sightings (other than my boyfriend, who was making himself seen by everyone possible), we were all about ready to call it a night. None of us had really expected to see anything, and it was getting late enough that we all just wanted to get home and to bed as quickly as possible.

"Alright, I need to run to the bathroom one last time before we get back in the car for two hours," I said as we headed for the exit.

"We'll wait for you here," said Katie. She was much more relaxed now that a few hours had passed without any vampire attacks, and our whole group was in good spirits as they stopped at a couple tables to wait for me.

"Be right back!" I called over my shoulder. The bathrooms were removed from the main pathways of the fair, with much worse lighting. I almost had a heart attack when a figure stepped out of the shadows towards me, but I calmed back down when I realized it was just another vampire nut in a long, Victorian dress, and not an actual vampire or any other threat.

No vampire would wear something like that in this century.

"You're not him," she said, sounding pouty and upset once she got close enough to see my face.

"No, I'm not 'him'. Who's him?"

"The vampire! You're out here alone and you don't even know! Ugh!" I just stared at her in confusion as she threw her hands up in frustration, at last settling them on her hips before glaring at me. "You should get out of here."

"I'm trying to go to the bathroom. I probably would've already been out of here by now if you weren't hiding in shadows to jump out and stop me."

"Whatever. Just get lost, okay? I've been hanging out back here all by myself for hours hoping for him to find me. I don't need you wandering around scaring him off. Or worse, catching his eye instead of me!"

She huffed, and I just rolled my eyes and pushed right past her.

"Okay. Whatever lady."

I glanced back once to make sure she wasn't following me, and she wasn't. She'd wandered off behind some stalls in an even worse-lit area than before, and I couldn't help rolling my eyes again as I headed into the bathrooms.

I came back out a few minutes later, keeping my eyes out for the crazy lady so she couldn't get the jump on me and scare me again. I'd only made it a few steps from the bathroom when I heard a noise to my right, the direction I'd last seen crazy wander off.

I kept walking, making sure to be aware of the dark area behind the stalls. I thought I saw something move, so I paused to get a better look, ready to act at a moment's notice. My boyfriend was Damon Salvatore, and if I could handle all the danger that came with that, then I could certainly handle this.

I stared at the spot for a moment longer, but when nothing else moved I decided to just continue on my way. I turned back the direction I was originally heading, only to come face to face with a man standing in my path, his eyes black with dark veins stretching across his face.

He still had blood dripping from his fangs.

I swore and backed up, glancing around for one of the wooden stakes that seemed to be everywhere earlier. There were none to be found, and before I knew what was happening my back hit a wall, hard, one of the vampire's hands around my neck, the other pushing my shoulder back so I couldn't move.

His eyes flashed, and I'd seen this enough times to know he was about to sink his teeth into my neck and drink, probably until I dropped dead.

"DAMON!" I screamed for all I was worth, hoping he'd be listening, hoping he'd be able to hear me above the noise of the fair. My hands ran over the wall behind me, searching for something, anything, I could use to defend myself as I cried out again. "DAMON!"

The vampire who'd ambushed me only seemed encouraged by my screams. He bit down, and unlike the few times when Damon fed on me, where it was just a little uncomfortable, this hurt.

"DAMON!" I screamed again, fighting to push the vampire off me. Just as panic was starting to overwhelm me, the crushing force holding me to the wall was suddenly ripped away, leaving me to sink down to the ground and watch the scene before me.

Damon had come to the rescue.

He was holding the other vampire by his shirt collar, rage plain in his face as his fangs came out to mirror the other vampire's. The one who bit me struggled to get free, and looked terrified to find that he couldn't.

"How are you stronger than me?" he panted, speaking for the first time. "I'm a vampire!"

"Clearly whoever turned you didn't stick around to teach you your history," said Damon, his tone teasing but his face murderous. "I'm a hundred and seventy-eight years old. Which makes me a hell of a lot stronger than any vampire younger than me, like you clearly are. And it means you just made the biggest mistake of your undead life going after my date."

"I'm sorry! I didn't realize— I mean, I didn't mean—"

He was cut off by Damon ripping out his heart. My boyfriend scowled at the corpse as he dropped, then tossed the heart into the grass next to him before speeding over to me.

"Hey, Y/N, are you okay? Here, drink this." He bit his own wrist, holding it out for me to drink from so I could heal.

"I'm fine," I said, the words becoming much more true now that his blood and its healing properties was coursing through my veins.

"C'mon, let me help you up." Damon supported me as I stood, keeping hold of my arm and grabbing my chin to look me in the eyes once I did. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I smiled softly at the concerned look on his face. He was the sweetest, most amazing person I could've asked for.

"Thanks to you, I'm fine," I said. Satisfied, Damon gave me a quick kiss before pulling me into his chest for a tight hug.

"I can't believe you got attacked by an actual vampire at this stupid festival," he muttered into my hair, kissing the top of my head.

"If only I'd had some garlic with me."

Damon snorted as we pulled apart.

"Not funny."

"I thought it was pretty funny! Good comedic timing and all that."

"We clearly have different definitions of 'good' comedic timing."

Damon and I took a minute to clean away all the blood on each of us, then he wrapped one arm around my waist, keeping me close to his side as we rejoined my friends back in the main part of the fair, leaving the vampire's body behind for the lady in charge to find. Based on the girl I'd run into earlier, wandering around in the shadows in search of "him", I got the impression the festival knew and advertised their little vampire guest, and that this wasn't the first year he'd come out to play.

We rejoined my friends without any of them having any idea what happened, then made it back to the car without further incident. Katie gave me a significant look as we all piled in, clearly under the impression that Damon and I had been up to no good back behind the stalls, instead of getting mauled by a real-life vampire.

"Well, that was sure fun!" said Katie happily as Damon and I made our way out of the car two hours later. We were safely back at the Boarding House now, after a car ride filled with garlic and vampire tonic.

"Yeah, it was," I agreed.

"Thanks for letting me tag along," Damon agreed with an easy smile. I didn't even want to think about what would have happened if he wasn't there.

"Sure thing, glad you could both come," said Mike. "I just wish we'd gotten a little more real-live vampire action."

Damon and I stayed silent. We were both way too tired to handle that comment with any tact.

"Anyway, we'll see you later Y/N! And hopefully you too Damon!" said Katie. She and Mike waved as Melanie pulled away, and Damon and I stayed outside waving back until they were out of sight.

"Ugh. What a day," I finally said, turning to trudge into the house. All I wanted to do was go to bed, as soon as possible.

"Does this mean I don't ever have to go to another one of these?" asked Damon as he followed me up the stairs.

"No, it means that I never have to go to another one of these. If anybody ever convinces me to change my mind, you're coming with me to make sure I don't get killed."

"Fair enough." Damon kissed my forehead as I opened the door to our shared bedroom. I walked in and flopped down on the bed without bothering to change into pajamas, but Damon paused to hang his garlic necklace on the outside of the door. "There. Now Stefan can't bother us."

I laughed as Damon sped across the room to join me in our bed. He pulled me over to him, and I snuggled into his chest as he rearranged the covers over both of us.

"Goodnight, Y/N," he said, turning off the light beside the bed.

"Goodnight, Damon." I sighed, passing out as soon as my eyes were closed. It had been a long, scary day, but also an insanely fun one.

Now I just couldn't wait to wake up tomorrow and see Stefan's reaction to the new garlic decoration on Damon's door.


End file.
